The Melancholy of Toph Bei Fong
by Mistress of Sarcasm
Summary: Toph is a girl on a mission, and no amout of cosmic energy or divine interfence is going to stop her. Watch out, Avatar-verse, The Cleaning Brigade is on the job!
1. The Scheme

Here's Day #6! I put 4 on 'Rules of Engagement' instead of 5, so please forgive me. That being said, my hands hurt. I've been typing all night, trying to go out with a bang. And I've decided that this last part will be a twoshot, with part one today, and part two tomorrow. Now that all that's out of the way, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own _Avatar_

* * *

Prompt: Of Epic Proportions

* * *

" War Paint, this is Snoozeles, do you read me, over?"

Silence.

" War Paint, do you read me, over?"

Silence.

" _War Paint_, over!"

" Sokka, I'm standing next to you, I can _hear_ you just fine."

" Suki, we've been over this. Call me Boomerang, and end every sentence with over!"

" And do you remember how that conversation ended?"

" …You bruised my shoulder?"

" Do you want one on your other shoulder to match?"

" No?"

" Then I suggest you shut you."

" But…but…over?"

" Okay, you're having _way_ too much fun with this 'over' thing."

" C'mon, Suki, play along. For me?"

" You can keep doing that for as long as you like, but it _won't_ work. I'm immune to penguin puppy eyes."

" _Please_?"

" Not working."

" Please with sugar snow on top?"

" Still no."

" Please with sugar snow and blue seal lion jerky and sweet cherry sauce and roasted acornery nuts on top?"

" …There is so much wrong with what you just said that I don't even know where to _begin_ pointing it out."

" Please with-"

" Snoozeles, shut up! Can't you seem I'm _plotting_ here?"

" Plotting what?"

" Our next move of course."

" Geez Sokka, get in the loop."

" Nobody tells me anything!"

" Well, if you _showed up_ at the meetings, you wouldn't _have_ that problem, now would you?"

" Suki, I'm not going to spend my time, hiding with you guys in a bush, or behind a tree or something, just so you can come up with crazy plans to set up my sister with Zuko, okay?"

" …You honestly think that's what we've been doing?"

" It's like you don't know us at all, Snoozy!"

" We would _never_ hide behind a _tree_!"

" That's right! We meet in your and Suki's bedroom and talk strategy."

" You mean all those times I was looking for you guys you were sitting on my bed?!"

" On the floor. You really think I'm going to sit on that bed after the stories War Paint has told me?"

" _Suki_!"

" After we plan we talk girl stuff. And the conversation drifted to how you and I are doing…and our relationship…and then…"

" Suddenly, I knew more than I've ever wanted to about that bed, and I will never be able to look you in the eyes again."

" …You don't even know where my eyes are."

" Not the point! Our objective is getting harder and harder to obtain, people! We need a plan! We need information! War Paint, what have you found out so far?"

" Since arriving in Omashu for King Bumi's birthday, Subject a has asked Roadblock C for a 'break', so she can 'figure some things out'. Subject B and Obstacle A have not been in any kind of contact since the get together eight weeks ago for reasons unknown."

" So we have no idea what's going on with Sparky and Cloak-and-Dagger?"

" None whatsoever."

" Can you coax Sunshine into getting it out of Cloaky?"

" She may already know. She's been spending an awful lot of time with M-Cloak-and-Dagger."

" How does Cloaky seem?"

" Upset, but relieved. We have absolutely no clue what happened between her and Subject B."

" Wait, this is about what happened between Zuko and Mai?"

" Use the labels, you don't want us found out!"

" Toph, we're in _your_ room in _your house_ with _your_ door _locked_. Who's going to hear us, the maids?"

" Unlikely, I've had this place sound proof for years."

" Then why are you so worr-"

" Continue with your report, soldier!"

" Alright, Alright."

Sokka took a deep breath.

" Zuko told me that he and Mai broke up after the trip to Kyoshi Island.

* * *

" _This is the part where I'm supposed to say that it's not you, it's me. But the truth is, it's __**not**__ me, it's __**you**__."_

Zuko wrapped his arms tighter around himself as he wandered down the crowded streets. The lanterns along the sides of the dirt road lit the area in a warm, friendly glow. From different directions, Zuko heard vendors calling out to the bustling crowd, advertising their wares and offering free samples in the hopes of enticing a wealthy patron to their stand.

Zuko trudged by, ignoring the voices and the sound of laughter echoing on al sides of him. A group of pretty girls in green bustled by his left; a member on the right (her hair done up over an elaborate jade piece and a slinky emerald dress with white flower designs exploding over it) sent him a flirty look over her delicate fan. She winked one shaded eye at him, but he kept walking, not hearing her disappointed sigh.

" _It's just that, last time, you __**needed**__ me to feel this way about you. You needed me to love you to help you forget all those things you'd done."_

" _I __**still**__ need you!"_

_She looked at him with something that might have been pity, but was also admiration._

" _No, Zuko, you don't."_

" What did she mean?" He mumbled to himself as he walked, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his dark pants. Around him, the festival was in full swing, children darting back and forth between stalls, grasping at finely sewn animals stuffed with herbs to ward off sickness, tossing tiny rings at spikes of earth to win prices, and grasping a stick of the soft, white sugar clouds that seemed to be so popular.

Zuko turned down a less crowded street, heading away from the noise that was making his head hurt. Reaching up, he brushed his bangs away from his face and tried to think.

" _You finally found it. You found that thing you'd been looking for. And it changed you."_

" _I haven't changed!"_

He found it almost ironic, those words. He wanted to laugh almost as much as he wanted to curse the Spirits for yanking his chain around once again, for dangling happiness in front of his face like he could attain it, and then tugging it away as soon as his fingertips brushed.

(He'd told another girl, under a city, in a cavern of crystal and rock and water, that he _had_ changed, that something in him _had_ altered, that he wasn't that same person she'd known since the start of her journey. He'd wanted to prove to her that he was stronger, better, faster, but most of all he'd wanted to prove to her that he was making the right choice, that happiness was to be found in betraying the one person who loved him and the only person who'd ever offered him salvation. He'd wanted to prove that his destiny wasn't tied to hers, wasn't as intertwined as she'd made it out to be at the North Pole, amid ice and snow and the tilting of the scales.)

Zuko let a bitter laugh escape his lips as he let his head fall back and he stared up at the sky, cold smirk on his face. The stars twinkled high above him, clear and bright, and he thought of the moment he'd dared the storm to strike back at him, just so he could prove, if only to himself, that he was worthy of even drawing breath.

" _You __**have**__ changed Zuko. You're different now. You don't __**need**__ me to love you anymore."_

" Just when I think I have it all figured out…" He murmured to himself, contemplating the darkness of the night, and the glowing moon.

He flinched.

Of course, the moon.

(A girl lit by the dying sunlight. Skin as soft as silk against his body, tempting, warm, _right_. A denial. _We can't._ A question. _Why not?_ And the heartbreaking answer. _We're the only ones strong enough_. He thought of her face, streaked with tears and her shoulders shaking, and wondered if he was a hero or a coward.)

He'd given it up, let go of any chance he could've had with her, and just when he was ready to bury the feelings deep inside of him where they'd never see the light of day again…

" Destiny is a funny thing." He whispered to himself, shaking his head at the stupidity of it all.

" How is it funny?"

The voice was soft, barely a whisper over the dull, distant roar of the crowds, but it snapped Zuko to attention, stiffening his whole body and rendering him immobile as she melted out of the shadows, eyes downcast and posture defeated.

" Katara…"

* * *

" You're doing really well." The brunette jabbed a thumb at where Suki was carefully observing the crowds for a streak of blue or red, and Sokka was munching away on more roasted acornery nuts. " You seem to have a good hold on your brigade."

" Thanks." Toph grinned in the general direction of the girl.

" Even so, I'd like to offer you some advice."

" Even if I decline, you'll tell me anyway, right?"

" You got it!" The girl gave Toph a thumbs up, quite uncaring that the earthbender couldn't see it.

" I like your style." The younger girl nodded. " Offer away."

" You need to introduce penalties!" The girl closed her eyes and struck a pose, her index finger extended. " If you want to have complete control over your minions, you must give out penalties when they misbehave! If their lack of obedience costs you your mission, and you _don't _punish them, what kind of an example will you be setting for the rest of your troops?!" She put her hands on her hips. " The only way to prevent laziness and promote hard work is to come down hard on the first offence! It shows them that you're a no nonsense type, and they'll think twice before going against your orders again! Isn't that right?!" She snapped to another brunet, a boy in olive green who was standing next to Sokka.

" Oh, yeah, sure." He responded, nodding to the pointing girl. She seemed satisfied with his dull answer, and turned back to Toph, smiling maniacally.

" Take my advice, man." The boy leaned close and whispered in Sokka's ear. " _Get out while you still can_."

" I've already been drafted for life." Sokka replied in a deadpan voice, tossing more nuts into his mouth. " She got to me early on."

" I feel your pain." The other boy took a handful. " These are great."

" I know, right?" Sokka offered the bag to him. " Here, I can get more."

" Thanks." The boy took the bag and popped about two more of the nuts into his mouth before the girl he'd been with (the weird, hyper maniac) grabbed him by his collar and dragged him back to where she was standing with Toph.

" You _have_ to see this! It's _amazing_!" She gushed. " Miss Toph has bracelet made out of a _meteor_!"

" How'd she managed that?" The boy asked, and Toph bent the present Sokka had given her.

" I just earthbended it, no big deal."

But the girl had flown forward, staring at the levitating hunk of space earth like it would reveal all the mysteries of the world to her.

" I've never seen anything like that!" She squealed, and tugged on her companion's arm. " Isn't that cool? Isn't it?!"

" Nothing surprises me anymore." The boy droned. " Not after I've hung out with you for so long."

" You ought to be grateful I even waste my time on you!" She snapped. " You're so boring and dull, I don't know _why_ I even asked you to help me start the club!"

The boy said nothing, only looked at her, but she whipped around to glare at him, her amber eyes sparking.

" What would something like _that_ have to do with our club?" She grabbed onto his arm and gave a sharp tug, dragging him away from the trio and down the road. " Now c'mon, I wanna see what this place has to offer before we have to go home."

" We don't even know how to _get_ home!" The boy whined as he was dragged away.

" All the more reason to explore while we can." The girl turned back. " Thank you for answering my questions!" She called to Toph. " And remember, a penalty is very important in keeping your authority over your brigade members! Even if you have to go as far as a death penalty, it'll be worth it! Good luck with your mission!"

She turned to the boy she was dragging away.

" C'mon! As the only member of the Brigade here at the time, I, as your Chief, order you to accompany me as we explore the festival! I also order you to stay close to me!"

The boy gave her a look.

" Because if we get separated, one of us may go home while the other is stuck here, of course!" She shouted, irritated at his silence (or what appeared to be silence). " And what if some brute attacks me?! What then, huh?! Could you live with yourself if you let your Chief get assaulted because you were too busy stuffing your face to help me?!"

The boy merely rolled his eyes. But apparently, it was the wrong thing to do, because the girl's cheeks went red and her eyes narrowed.

" Don't flatter yourself, you're _hardly_ my type! You may fit the bill for someone with as drab tastes and dull fantasies as Mikuru, but for someone with such an appetite for the exotic as myself, you would never do, not in a million years!"

The boy gave her a hard look, and from her position down the road, Toph smirked.

" Three…" The earthbender whispered.

" What's that supposed to mean, huh?!" The brunette shouted, but the boy just kept eyeing her.

" Two…"

The boy suddenly grabbed her by her shoulders, still looking into her eyes.

" What do you think you're doing?!" She shrieked. " Unhand me right now! Listen to your Chief! You're about two seconds away from the _death penalty_ buddy!"

" One." Toph's grin spread to cover her entire face.

" With all due respect, _Chief_," The boy ground out, " shut up."

And he kissed her hard on the mouth.

Sokka blinked, eyeing the couple.

" I guess you were right Toph." He nodded to the smaller girl. " They _are_ going out."

" Cute couple." Toph shrugged her shoulders. " The girl's got some _great_ ideas, I hope that guy knows to hang on to her."

Watching as the girl dragged the boy into a nearby alleyway, Sokka could only guess at who had their claws in whom.

" Toph, Subjects A and B! Dead Ahead!" Suki called down from the roof she'd scaled sometime during their interaction with the odd couple.

" Are you sure?" Toph called back.

" Dead sure, I'd know that dress _anywhere_. And Zuko tends to stick out in a crowd, when he's not concentrating."

" How're things looking?"

" They're not talking…"

" That's bad."

" But they're not moving away from each other either."

" So we still have a chance to save this thing."

" Look's like it." Suki narrowed her eyes and she shielded her eyes as she stared out at the twosome. " Oh damn!"

" What?!" Toph darted to the edge of the building. " What is it, War Paint?"

" Roadblock C! Heading straight for them!"

" What do we do now, Toph?" Sokka asked. The blind girl began pacing, muttering darkly under her breath.

" Oh no, no, no, no, no, no! Twinkle Toes is _not_ going to screw this up!" She turned to Sokka, her shoulders sagging. " We have no choice."

" You don't mean-"

" Yes, yes I do." Toph barely glanced over as Suki slid down a drainpipe to the ground. " I didn't want it to come to this. You both know that. But Twinkles leaves us no choice. Sokka," She paused dramatically,

" Get the cactus juice."

" Why _me_?!"

" _Because_ you're _legal_ and can buy it _without_ an awkward _questions_." The girl growled.

" I can't believe you're asking me to get the Avatar _drunk_!"

" I'm not asking you to do that. I'm _ordering_ you to buy us some cactus juice. _I'll_ pour the stuff down his throat myself if I have to. But, so help me Spirits, he will _not_ screw this up for us! Not after all the hours spent plotting!"

Toph punched her fist in the air.

" Avatar or not, he should _never_ have crossed Toph Bei Fong!"

Suki's fist joined hers.

" Operation: Epic Zutara is a go!"

" _Zutara_?" Sokka asked with a raised eyebrow.

" Yeah." His girlfriend grinned sheepishly. " You know, _Zu_ko. Ka_tara_. _Zutara_?"

" It doesn't have to make sense as long as it _works_!" Toph snarled. " Now go get that cactus juice, or it's the death penalty for you!"

Sokka scurried off, either spurred by Toph's threat, or Suki's pleading eyes.

" War Paint, keep an eye on Twinkles, and if he gets any closer to the subjects, detain him at all costs!"

Suki saluted.

" And you, Commander?"

Toph smirked.

" Twinkles can't interrupt them if he can't find them."

* * *

" So, I heard about you and Mai."

" Oh?"

" Yeah, she…she's been avoiding me, and when I asked Ty Lee why…she told me."

" So, I guess you'll want to rub it in my face then."

" What?"

" I picked the wrong girl. I chose her over you, and she dump me, and now you can rub it in my face-"

" I came here to offer you my sympathies! I know what it feels like to get my heart broken, and before you ask, no, it had nothing to do with you!"

Katara threw him a glare.

" Regardless of what's happened between us, I am still your friend, and I still care about you, so you can get off your high ostrich horse, and either accept my apologizes, or you can spit on them! Because I don't _care_!"

_" You've finally stopped trying to gain everyone's approval and started being fine with who you are."_

She panted, her cheeks flushed, and despite everything, despite the fact that his heart had been ripped out and his mind blown, despite that he was wallowing in a puddle of his own misery, despite the entire world around him, all Zuko could think about was how beautiful she looked went she was angry, and how much he wanted to kiss her.

" You don't mean that." He whispered before he could stop himself.

" What?" She hissed, and it was the same voice she'd used when she'd threatened him in the Western Air Temple so many months ago.

" You _do_ care." He murmured, well aware that he was pushing his limit with her. " You'll _always_ care."

" Don't go putting words in my mouth, Zuko, you don't-"

He grabbed her wrists and pulled her close.

_" You've finally learned to love yourself Zuko."_

" I don't _what_?" He asked, and his voice was just as dangerous as hers. " I don't _know_ you?" He tightened his grip. " _I know you, Katara_."

" Let go." She whispered, but there was no real fight in her voice.

" No." He said huskily, and all he could think of was how perfectly her body molded against his as he drew her closer.

" Let me go, Zuko." There was a demand in her voice, but he couldn't bring himself to yield to it.

" No."

" You're hurting my wrists." She tried a different tactic.

" You should be used to getting hurt around me by now." He was starting to shake, and for the life of him, he couldn't stop.

" I don't think I'm the only one hurting." She whispered, and it undid him.

_" And in doing so, you stopped needing **me** to love you."_

He gathered her up in his arms, pressing her close and staring into her eyes. Her heart thudded against his chest where he mashed their torsos together, and the feeling of her curves pressing against him made the blood in his veins come to a swift boil. She was very still in his arms, looking up at him with pleading eyes (what she was pleading for, he didn't know; to let her go? To hold onto her?)

" I've spent our entire relationship just letting you go." He leaned down. " I'm not about to continue that tradition, not when I finally have you alone."

" You've had me alone tons of times." She said, but she leaned against him as his arms tightened.

" Not like this." He whispered, and her lips parted slightly. " Not when…not when we both…we _can_…"

_" You can love** yourself** now, Zuko, you don't need me to do it for you. And you're free to love someone you don't need to love you."_

He let go of all the inhibitions that had held him back up until that point, and with the rush of freedom, he tilted his head forward, a heady haze settling in on his senses. He breathed in the scent of her hair deeply, and became aware of her surging upward to meet him. As the fact registered in his fogged up brain, he fought to keep a dry, happy sob from escaping him as his one hand twisted in the hair flowing freely down her back.

_" You're free to love someone knows **both** the prince and the traitor, not **just** the prince."_

His bottom lip just barely skimmed hers, a rough butterfly wing over the plump mound of flesh that jutted out from her face in offering.

" Katara?" Aang's voice broke through the haze.

The couple tried to spring apart, but abruptly, the ground opened up beneath them they were sucked down into a long, dark tunnel, sliding away from the Avatar, and the light as a roof slammed over their long, slippery ride into the earth.

Aang stood, horrified and stunned, staring at the hole where his friend and (still?) girlfriend had vanished into. He was so intent on the spot that he missed Suki walking up.

" Oh _there_ you are Aang, we've been looking all _over_ for you!" The warrior looped her arm through his stiff one. " C'mon, Toph's got something she wants to show you!"

Still too numb from the shock to object, Aang allowed himself to be dragged away, mouth agape and eyes wide.

As Suki led him to the designated meeting point, she couldn't help but wonder if his dropped jaw would help the Cleaning Brigade with their plan.

* * *

_" I'm letting you go because when you learned to love yourself, you stopped loving me."

* * *

_

Where is the tunnel taking them? What will they do once they get there? Will Toph force cactus juice down Aang's throat?

I'm not telling!

So you'll just have to wait for tomorrow.

BTW, did you catch the little crossover?

MoS


	2. In Motion

Okay, here's Day #7. And here's the deal: We had a massive storm blow through here today, and I couldn't get on the computer and work until about 10 o'clock tonight. So, this finale will be turned into a three parter, with tomorrow's part being the conclusion, and written to the best prompt given to me by you reviewers. Leave a review with an idea for the conclusion prompt, and please don't hate me, as I have delivered more Scheming!Toph, KReluctant!Sokka, Zutara tension, Aang's intro, and a special guest appearance.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Avatar_

* * *

Prompt: Masquerade, Paper Faces on Parade

* * *

" This is _insane_! It's _never_ going to work!"

" And _how_ do you know that?"

" He's the_ Avatar_ for crying out loud!"

" What does that have to do with it?"

" I dunno, he's probably immune, or something!"

" _Immune_?"

" He beat Ozai, he learned bending-bending, he saved the _whole freakin' world_! _Why_ wouldn't he be immune to _cactus juice_?!"

" Because every hero's gotta have a weakness, Snoozy, and Aang is just _begging _to have his exposed."

" I thought Katara was his weakness."

" No, no, she's his _attachment_."

" His what?"

" _Attachment_. The thing that's like…binding him to this world or whatever."

" Isn't that a good thing?"

" Not when the attachment is blocking his…whatchacallems and stopping him from controlling the glowyness!"

" …We need a book that translates Toph-speak into something that's universally understood."

" You can work on it later, Snoozy. Right now, we got a mission!"

" Yeah, about the whole 'Get Aang drunk' plan…is this _really_ the best idea?"

" Probably not, but it's the most entertaining."

" Yeah, really not helping to sooth my nerves here."

" What's the worst that could happen?"

" Aang gets drunk, looses control, and goes on a bending spree."

" He wouldn't get two steps before I pinned him down."

" You think you can take on the Avatar State?"

" I don't _think_ so Snoozeles, I _know_ so."

" But still, he could cause serious damage!"

" Okay, okay, _fine_. If it'll shut you up, we'll only give him a little. Just enough to make him incoherent, but not the three cup fulls you had in the desert."

" Two and a half!"

" Same difference, you were still hallucinating!"

" It wasn't that bad!"

" '_Maybe it's friendly!_' Remember that? Huh?"

" …Fine, you win."

" I always do. Now let me see that stuff."

" I think it would be best if I handled –"

" Don't question your Brigade Chief!"

" …You are never allowed to talk to that girl again."

But still, Sokka handed over the corked, waterproof skin that contained the volatile substance they were going to use on the unsuspecting Avatar.

" Perfect." Toph groused as she swished the container around a little. " Operation Epic Zutara is right on track."

" I still can't get behind the whole 'Zutara' thing." Sokka mumbled. " It sounds too weird."

" Well, I don't see you coming up with a better name!" Toph snapped, rolling her eyes under her bangs. " And besides, it's not like anyone else is going to really hear it. It's a label for Brigade members only."

" Speaking of 'the Brigade'," Sokka wiggled his fingers in the air, " where were you, anyway?"

" Sparky and Sugar Queen were getting up close and personal, _finally_, when Twinkles decides to pop outta nowhere and ruin it."

" Are we using their nicknames again?"

" Shut up and listen, minion."

" _Minion_?!"

" Before you get all huffy, it's not up for debate." Toph brushed a stray bang out of her eyes, shifting her feet slightly on the ground, feeling around for their third member. " Anyway, Twinkles is ruining the mood, so I figured, hey, all's fair in love and war, right?"

" …Right…"

" So, I opened a hole underneath the love birds and sent them packing."

" Where'd you sent them?"

" Some place Twinkles won't look, and Subjects A and B will have all the time in the world to settle things." She rubbed her hands together.

" …So they're back to being Subject A and B again?"

" Sokka, just keep quiet and walk."

* * *

Katara let out a shriek as the dark space around her shifted once again. She was turned on her side as the tunnel made a sharp corner, and threw her against Zuko with stunning force. The pitch-blackness around them closed in with suffocating stillness, the only sound being her surprised yelp and the low rush of air around them as they continued to barrel down the passageway.

" This is _ridiculous_!" Zuko snarled, curling an arm around her and yanking her closer. " What the _Hell_ is going on?"

" You think I know?" Katara asked as the tunnel gave another turn. She leaned into Zuko as the speed of their sliding increased. Her face pressed into his shoulder and his heart pounding against the arm she had thrown around his torso a few turns back, Katara could only find it pathetic that she was even blushing.

" How long is this going to take?" Zuko murmured into her hair. " We've been in this tunnel for hours!"

" Minutes, Zuko, minutes." Katara smirked up at him, before she remembered that he couldn't see it. " Can't you light a fir, or something?"

" At this speed," Zuko's arm tightened around her as they whizzed by another corner, " the rushing air would just put it out. We need to slow down before I can do anything." He leaned down closer to her ear to whisper. " Can you tell if the tunnel is slippery with water?"

" No." Katara shook her head, her hand clutched in his robe. " It isn't water. The rock around us is just really, really smooth."

" _Why_ is this tunnel even here?" Zuko hissed, his voice muffled by her loose hair. " Who would just …_create_ it…for no apparent reason?!"

He let out a frustrated snort, and Katara stifled a giggle as the hands on her lower back warmed with his agitation.

" Bumi might." She whispered, because despite the rushing air and smooth rocks around them, she was still completely alone with Zuko, more alone than she'd ever had the chance to be, what with people darting around them, friends and allies and enemies, all shifting around them until all they could do was grab a spare minute in an empty hallway, or steal an instant behind a tree.

(Or sit together in a cave under the world. Or fight and sweat and _bleed_ in the middle of a war that wasn't their fault, but was their burden nonetheless. In all the time she'd known Zuko, in all the time she'd gotten to know him, she had learned about him through the in between, the moments when the whole world spun around them, but it didn't matter. Because the two of them thrived of moments where it was just her and just him, and whether he was her enemy or her friend, every time she'd encountered Zuko, it had yielded something new about him, about his ferocity, about his courage, about his dedication, about his honour, about his hope. And no one understood hope better than Katara.)

" Crazy old king." Zuko murmured, but jolted as the blackness opened up at their feet to a pale green lighting. Katara sucked in her breath as the two rushed forward towards the hole, turning her head so that she could bury it in Zuko's shoulder.

"Oh Spirits, oh Spirits, oh Spirits…" She chanted to herself as the tight air in the tunnel gave way to an open chamber and the sturdy rock beneath her hip faded into emptiness. With a feeling of fear bubbling up in her, Katara molded her body to the warm one next to her, unable to stop her heart from jumping when the arms that had been holding her the entire ride down tightened to a vice and suddenly she was flipped in mid air. An arm grabbed her under her legs as she twisted, and Zuko landed on perfectly steady feet, cradling her like a bride to his chest and smirking down at her.

" Some ride, huh?" She blinked at him, astonished. " Should I let go, or are you enjoying this as much as I am?" His fingers squeezed the underside of her knees. The action drew her back to reality, and, with a dry sob of relief, she threw herself completely against him, crying into the croak of his neck. Zuko lowered her legs and let her stand, but her knees were shaking so badly that she found herself needing to lean on him just to keep herself up right. She would later curse herself for such weakness and stupidity, but the rush of the fall had startled her badly, and with Zuko's arms locked around (hadn't they been this way when he'd saved her from the falling rocks at the Western Air Temple? She'd been angry, partly at him for saving her, and partly at herself for enjoying his concern) she felt safer.

" You okay?" He was stroking her hair, and as much as she knew she should stop him, she simply pressed deeper, nodding, not daring to meet the eyes she knew would be looking at her.

" I…yeah, I'm fine." She pulled away, smiling. " Thanks. Sorry I…sorry about that."

" I'm not really good with crying women…" Zuko rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. " You kinda…you scared me there…for a second."

" I'm not usually so weepy." Katara looked away from him.

" I know." His voice was soft, and echoed in the dark room, wherever they were, but it still froze her in the spot, only an arm's reach away from touching him.

" _I know you Katara."_

The sound of his voice, so dark and husky and warm from where he'd loomed over her, face barely lit in the dull lantern light spilling over from the main streets, his hands burning a circle on her wrists. Her breath caught in her throat and with a swiftness she hadn't used since the war ended (an agility born at the North Pole as she fought his attacks; just what she needed, more memories of him, regal and strong and determined) she turned away from him, staring in interest up into the blackness that surrounded them.

" Can you give us a little light now?" She hated her voice for wavering.

" Sure." His voice sounded calm, but Katara shivered without meaning to. There was a flicker, and then heat exploded next to her ear. Yelping, she whipped around, her feet skidding unsteadily out from under her body. A hand shot out and grabbed her exposed elbow, hauling her back to her feet, and forcing her to look up into the golden eyes that were far to close for comfort.

Her bottom lip started tingling again, and she bit it to stop it from shaking.

His eyes followed the movement, molten heat taking in the sight of her lower lip being worried between her teeth, his scorching gaze flitting under her clothes and over her skin and into the very depths of her being, seeking out something, some confirmation, some nod she was giving him.

She threw her eyes around desperately, looking for something, _anything_, that wasn't the gorgeous Fire Lord standing over her, bathed in scarlet firelight.

Her heart stopped as she caught sight of the opposite wall.

" Katara?" Zuko asked as she stepped away from him, skirting around him to look at the carving.

A great archway rose up out of the ground, curving over the image of two people kissing, their passionate embrace forever captured in stone. Between the two lovers, a large green epitaph glinted in the light from the fire in Zuko's palm.

" _Love is brightest in the dark_?" He read, but Katara didn't hear him, only staring up at the kissing couple.

" The Cave of the Two Lovers…" She whispered almost reverently.

* * *

" Just try it, Twinkle Toes!"

" Look Toph, I don't have time right now! Zuko and Katara-"

" Can take care of themselves! They're old enough, aren't they Snoozeles?!"

" O-Oh yeah! They'll be fine Aang! No need to worry! No need at all!"

" See, Snoozy agrees with me, so just take a load off and have a freakin' drink, okay?!"

" Toph, they vanished into a hole! A _hole_! Spirits only knows what's happened to them! I have to go and help them!"

" Twinkles, if you saw Sugar Queen and Sparky get pulled into a hole, then you're drunker than I thought! Have this, it'll clear your head."

" Toph, I'm _not_ drunk! They really did disappear into a hole! Suki was there, she saw it!"

" War Paint?"

" I don't know what he's talking about, I just found him staring down some alley, and dragged him back here."

" Ya see, Twinkles, you were just seeing things! Now have a drink, shut up, and loosen up! It's a _party_, have some fun!"

" But I _know_ what I saw and-"

"And I'm telling ya that you didn't see it, got it?!"

" How would you know, Toph? You weren't there!"

" Just _drink_ the drink already!"

" Allow me."

A pale hand, covered by black leather, reached around the stunned Avatar and grabbed the cup out of the compliant blind girl's hands. Another hand, also in leather, tipped the bald boy's head back, and forced his mouth open. With skilled ease, the cup was emptied into the protesting boy's mouth, and then tossed away as Aang choked for breath.

" There, problem solved." The two hands dusted themselves together.

Toph grinned in the general direction of the new comer.

" Thanks." She nodded.

" No problem." The woman flipped her dark hair over her shoulder. " Not that it's any of my business, but why are you trying to get the Avatar drunk?"

" I'm drunk?!" Aang shouted, but Suki and Sokka each slapped a hand over his mouth.

" It's a long story." Toph took a gulp of her own fruit drink. " A _long_ story."

" I got all the time in the world, sweetheart." The woman threw one long leg over a chair she'd liberated from the table next to them, and leaned it back on it's back legs.

" Don't call me sweetheart." Toph insisted.

" Would you prefer babe?" The woman taunted.

" I'd prefer my name."

" Which is?"

" None of your business."

" A girl after my own heart." The woman fingered the whip at her waist. " But we've met before."

" So we have." Toph nodded. " I'm Toph. And you are?"

" Jun." The bounty hunter grinned before she tossed back a glass of colourless liquid. " And it appears I've arrived just in time for story hour."

" Get comfortable, this is gonna take a while." Toph settled into her chair as Jun made a motion to a waiter.

" Darling, I've got _all _night." She drawled.

" Now 'darling', I can live with."

* * *

" So, let me get this straight." Zuko made a motion towards the carving. " These two…were the first earthbenders?"

" Yep." Katara nodded. " They were in love, but they couldn't be together because their villages were enemies."

" Doesn't that sound familiar?" Zuko whispered to the darkness around their circle of light. Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko saw the girl stiffen slightly, but continue in her story.

" So, they learned how to earthbend from the bagermoles, and built elaborate tunnels, so that they could meet each other."

" Clever." Zuko muttered, not really listening to her tale as much as the sound of her voice, amplified by the cave around them, bouncing back over smooth stones.

" Anyone else would get lost forever in them."

" Would they now?" His heart was beginning to speed up, and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. He'd been alone with Katara before, isolated, and standing this near to her. But the difference, he supposed, was that all those other times, Katara had still been only his friend, and hadn't known about his feelings (_he_ hadn't even known about his feelings half those times; and before that, they had only met as enemies, and as exciting as it was to fight her, the intensity had never gone beyond that of a warrior respecting another warrior. Then she fingered his scar under Ba Sing Se, and the warrior had given way to the lonely boy that hide under his armour and his flames), and therefore, hadn't been so frustrating to be around.

Because she hadn't known about them, and so she couldn't return them, and everything had gone on wonderfully until he gave into the temptation and had almost lost control of himself more times than he dared acknowledge.

" Yeah, only the man and the woman knew how to get through the tunnels." Katara turned to him, smiling like she'd used to when they were alone and just friends, Zuko felt his heart skip a beat. " It was the only way they could be together."

She turned back to the carving, her eyes sad, and something cold gripped the inside of Zuko's chest as he stared up at the image of the man. A sorrow he'd never experienced filled him up as he had to look away from the carving of the two, locked forever in their kiss. He trained his golden eyes on Katara, on the way her hair gleamed in the firelight, and guiltily let himself imagine what the Fire nation crown would look like in it.

" But one day," She started off, " something happened. The man-"

" Didn't come." Zuko finished, the words out of his mouth before he could stop them. Katara looked over her shoulder at him in surprise.

" I thought you said you didn't know this story."

" I don't." Zuko whispered his voice thick.

" So how did you know-"

" What were their names?"

" Huh?" She looked bewildered.

" Their names!" This seemed very important. He waved the hand without the fire in it at the picture. " What were their names?"

" Oma and Shu." The girl murmured, and the names struck deep within him somewhere.

" Oma, huh?" He muttered. " It's pretty."

" What?" Katara took a step closer. His head shot up, quiet desperation in his eyes. He met her confused ones.

" Where did they meet?"

" On top of a mountain." Katara answered slowly, putting a hand on his shoulder as he started to shake. " Are you okay?"

" A mountain, huh?" She nodded. " You're sure?"

She nodded again, frowning.

" Zuko, is something wrong? You're acting strange." She rolled her eyes and tried to smile. " Well, stranger than usual."

He didn't even smile at her bad attempt at humour.

" A mountain…" He whispered, still staring at her. " It's no South Pole, but it'll do, I guess."

Katara pulled her hand back as if he'd coursed lightning through it.

" What?" There was something akin to hope in her voice, and it broke Zuko's heart just as surely as it made it soar.

" I…sorry." He stepped back. " Sorry. Just…just forget I said anything, okay? I was just…I was rambling. Just forget it, okay?"

" No."

And then her breath was tickling his cheeks and her eyes were staring right into his, because she was close enough to touch, close enough to hold, close enough to kiss (and breathe in and stroke and cry over and all those other little things he'd ached to do for so long, had denied himself for so long but had stopped himself by remembering duty and honour and faithfulness).

" I won't forget it, because you meant something by it, something very important!" Katara's grip on his collar had him yanked down until he was eye to eye with her. " And because I am _sick_ and _tired_ of just listening to you, and Aang and Sokka and Toph and every other damned person who seems to have nothing better to do than tell _me_ how to go about living _my_ life!

" I am _not_ going to forget what you just said, because you meant it, and I want you to mean it, and I am _through_ with _blindly obeying_ you like you're some kind of _god_! You have been giving me _mixed signals_ since the end of the war! One second, you're completely platonic and we're the best of friends! The _next_, you're drooling over me worse than Sokka at a meat lovers' festival!"

Something in him told him that interrupting her now would not be the best idea, even if his pride was stinging.

" You act one way one minute, and then you're _totally different_ the next! How am I supposed to interpret that, huh?! How am I supposed to take it?! Do I ignore it, do I ask you about it?! Do I follow your example and act like it never happened?! Do I act on my impulse and flirt right back?! What do you expect me to do?!"

" Nothing." He whispered, staring at her. " You…it isn't your fault…I'm the one whose-"

" You're right, it is _you_! It's been you all along! _You're_ the one who started this whole thing, and now, you're acting like it never happened!"

" I'm still hurting over Mai!" He insisted, not struggling against her hold, but not giving into it either. " I'm still hurt, and I don't want to drag you into that-"

" Would you _stop_ with that?!" Katara snarled, shaking him a little. " Would you _please_ just stop hiding?! Stop doing one thing, and then saying something else! Stop telling me you want me, but then saying we're not allowed to feel this way! Stop hiding behind your honour, or your title, or your _whatever_! Take whatever freaking mask you've got on _off_, and tell me the truth! You _owe_ me that much after ht Hell you've put me through these past few months! I've never been so confused in my _life_! I had to break things off with Aang because I couldn't stop thinking about you and if you don't own up to this you're going to wish you had never been b-"

" I love you."

* * *

" I'm just sayin' she my girlfriend, you know?" Aang asked a wide eyed Sokka. " _Mine_, not his or anybody else's. So why do I keep catchin' her with him? I mean, I know they're friends, right? And Zuko's a great guy, right? But _why_ is she always around _him_?" He sullenly glared at the table. " I'm her boyfriend, she should be around _me_."

" The Avatar is drunk." Sokka whispered. " _The Avatar is __**drunk**_!"

Suki hit him in the back of the head.

" Shut up!" She hissed. " You want the whole world to know?"

" But he's _drunk_!" Sokka threw his hands out in Aang's direction. " I mean, we only put what, four, five drops of cactus juice in his water? And _look_ at him!"

Aang leaned forward, staring unfocusedly into Sokka's eyes.

"Did you know _this _eye," he pointed, " is smaller than _this_ eye?"

" What?!" Sokka yelped. " It is?! Where?! Where?! I need a mirror!" He shot up out of his seat. " Mirror! Now!"

He ran off into the crowd, Suki and Aang staring after him.

"I'd better go make sure he doesn't hurt himself." Suki muttered, getting up from the table. " Have fin Aang."

" Bye bye, Mrs. Ponytail. Good luck finding Mr. Ponytail." Aang called after her dreamily, waving his hand back and forth. As Suki disappeared from sight, the intoxicated Avatar turned back to the table he was sitting at, Toph and Jun across from him, devilish smiles on each of their faces.

" So, like I was saying, I'm _sure_ it's nothing, but still-"

" Twinkle Toes, you have done _nothing _but harp and whine about Sparky and Sugar Queen since you started talking _an hour ago_!" Toph growled. " And I have only three words for you: Get. Over. It!"

" But she's _my_ girlfriend-"

" Did it ever occur to you that she might want a _say _in that?" Jun asked slyly from her chair. Aang turned to stare at her.

" Wha?" He slurred.

" Did you ever _ask_ her to be your girlfriend?"

" I kissed her-"

" But you didn't _ask_ her?"

" Kissing's like asking her, right?"

" You idiot!" Toph roared as she punched him in the back of the head. " You didn't even _ask_?! You just up and _assumed_ that after the war was over, Sugar Queen was going to go out with you?!"

" I love her." Aang mutter pathetically into his cup.

"No, you don't." Jun rolled her eyes. " You just think you do."

" I do so love her!" Aang shouted, banging his cup down on the table and splashing the liquid. " I saved the world _just for her_!"

" And that automatically means she _has_ to love you back?" Jun asked, and Aang faltered.

" Katara loves me…"

" Sure she does, kiddo." Jun threw back the rest of her drink. " But maybe not the way you want her to."

" But I-"

" Look kid, it doesn't matter what you did." Jun got up from the table. " You can't just _earn_ somebody's love. You can't do something, and then expect them to love you for it. That's just _stupid_. Real love is given freely."

She sashayed towards the door of the tavern, throwing a two fingered salute towards their table.

" And you don't love that girl, kiddo, not really. You only love her enough to make her yours; not enough to let her go."

And Jun vanished into the crowd, leaving a smirking Toph and a shaken Aang.

* * *

Part three, coming up!

MoS


	3. An Ending

And here's part three, with all the Zutara goodness I've been keeping from you! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own _Avatar_.

* * *

Prompt from - Quile: On Your Side

* * *

" Would you _please_ calm down?"

" Calm down? _Calm down_?! Suki, I'm _deformed_! _Hideous_! An unsightly, grotesque _caricature_ of a man!"

" …Are you quite done?"

" Just give me _two _minutes. Ahem. Don't look at me, Suki! I can't bear to be seen like this!"

" Okay, you're done."

" I am ?"

" You are."

" Are you positive?"

" _Completely_."

" …I'm done."

" That's what I thought you'd say."

" …Suki, is it embarrassing that you have me this whipped?"

" Honey, you're not whipped, you're just well trained."

" I feel as though I should take that as an insult."

" You've been hanging around Toph to long, her jokes at your expense are starting to take their toll."

" You laughed right along with her."

" Yeah, but I didn't make the joke, I just got it."

" …I'm not going to win, am I?"

" Not in a million years, Honey."

" Then why do you keep letting me try to?"

" Because you wouldn't give up even if I told you to."

" Aww, thanks Suki."

" Plus, it's kinda funny."

" Hey!"

" I said _kinda_. It gets old after a while."

" You know just what to say to make a guy feel lousy, you know that?"

Suki smiled benignly at her husband-to-be.

" How about we stop talking then?" She offered. Sokka shot her a confused look, but Suki merely smirked as she pushed him into the alley on their right. With sure hands, she grabbed his collar and yanked his head down, firmly attaching her lips to his.

Sokka gave the slight sigh that meant he was content, and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to stand flush against him. With a comfortable sense of familiarity, Suki tangled one hand in his hair and coiled the other one over his shoulder to grip the space between his shoulder blades. When Sokka let out that muffled sound that meant he was incredibly pleased with her antics, Suki smirked into the kiss, and raised her one leg to curl it around Sokka's.

" I love you." Sokka whispered against their joined lips and Suki felt the familiar heady rush of warmth pass through her as Sokka murmured the words against the skin of her neck.

" Hey there!" A boisterous voice cut through the passionate haze that had settled on their sense. The couple sprang apart, faces flushed and eyes wide to stare at the girl and boy from before.

" I had a few more questions, and I spotted you guys over here!" The girl exclaimed delightedly, as if she hadn't just interrupted another couple's alone time. The boy behind her dropped his head into his hand and muttered something in a language neither Sokka nor Suki understood.

" Haruhi…" He groaned, but the girl ignored him.

" We heard about this really great tourist attraction!" The girl, Haruhi, bounced over to them. " 'The Cave of the Two Lovers'. Ever heard of it?"

" Yeah, I went through it a few months ago." Sokka answered, his voice taunt. Haruhi immediately zeroed in on him, scooting to stare in his eyes, her own sparkling.

" Really?" She gushed. " What's it like?"

" Very confusing." Sokka shuddered. " And dangerous."

" Why?" The boy asked from the entrance of the alleyway. " Are there cave ins or something?"

" No, but the walls change on you, and there are giant furry animals called badgermoles that live there." Sokka deadpanned, but the girl in front of him gave a squeal.

" Giant creatures! _Really_?!" She clapped her hands together in excitement. " That's _fantastic_! We have to go, we _have to_!"

She turned to her companion, who shook his head quickly.

" Oh no! I am _not_ going into shape shifting caves that trap people with furry monsters roaming about!" He crossed his arms over his chest and planted his feet. " No way, no how!"

" Your chief is ordering you to!"

" Newsflash Haruhi, I don't think the fact that you're the president of the SOS Brigade is going to do much for us here!"

" Regardless, I am still your chief, and you are still my subordinate, so you are bound by the honour of the club to obey me!"

" What honour?! All you ever do is make underhanded deals and harass Miss Asahina!"

" Mikuru is so moe and cute, can you blame me?!"

" How she looks has got nothing to- Wait, you're bi?"

" Well, of course I am you idiot! You honestly think I'm going to limit myself to just one gender?! Please, aliens and espers and time travels can be _any_ gender, moron! I have to be open to all aspects in order to find them!"

Suki exchanged a glance with Sokka as the boy stopped moving to stare at the Haruhi girl.

" Aliens?" Suki mouthed.

" Espers?" Her fiancé whispered back.

" Anyway, we have an obligation to the rest of the Brigade to discover as many weird and amazing things as we can while we're here so that when we get back, we can tell them all about it!"

" So you do wanna go back, right?" The boy asked. Haruhi paused, and tapped her index finger to her bottom lip, surveying the area around her.

" Well, this world _is_ pretty interesting, and there's no school, and I'm sure we could find a way to fit in," The boy looked terrified, " but I don't think I could live here forever. No TV and no computers."

The boy let out a sigh of relief.

" So you _want_ to go back, right?" He pressed.

" Eventually." Haruhi shrugged. " But I want to see these 'badgermoles' first."

" Trust me, you don't." Sokka stepped in.

" Oh yes, I do!" The girl grinned at him. " As a woman who is always on the look out for anything unusual in her environment, I can't pass up the opportunity to see something this amazing!"

" I'm not getting out of this, am I?" Sokka asked, his posture defeated.

" Nope!" Haruhi said in a singsong voice.

" Fine." He agreed, but grabbed Suki's arm. " But if I go, so does my girl!"

" What?" She started to struggle, but Haruhi clapped her hands together again.

" Perfect!" She took each of them by a hand and led them out of the alley. " Two young lovers coming on a journey with a lost adventurer! Right out of a manga!"

" What does that make me?" The boy darted after them. " Luggage?"

" The heroine's trusty sidekick!" Was the reply.

" _Sidekick_! That's Koizumi's job, not mine!"

" You're right, he's more suited to the part. A much more charming smile, and I'm much more likely to fall in love with him in this sort of setting than you."

" What?!"

" Oh, keep quiet Kyon! I'm trying to memorize everything I see so that I can tell everyone back at headquarters about what we've seen!"

" They're nuts!" Sokka hissed to Suki as the boy, Kyon, began to rail on Haruhi about someone named 'Koizumi'. Suki shrugged at their antics.

" They seem harmless enough Sokka." She smirked. " Besides that, a thought just occurred to me."

" What?"

" Where do you think Toph sent Subjects A and B?"

* * *

The chamber was black and silent.

Zuko had let the light fade away as soon as he had let slip those fateful words and Katara's grip had gone slack. He'd stepped out of range of her grasping fingers, mentally cursing himself for letting those three, deadly little words come tumbling out of his mouth. The look in her eyes (the shocked, stunned blue of them barely concealing the last little shred of hope she'd been hanging onto for Spirits only knew how long) was enough to make him want to reverse time back to the very instant he'd first started flirting with her and undo all the damage he'd done.

If he had known then, that leaning over her like that, staring into her eyes and discreetly smelling her hair would lead to all this pain and heartbreak, he would never have done it.

No.

That was a lie.

He would still have done it.

Every touch, every caress, and every deep breath in her presence; every longing look, every yearning embrace, every half heard whisper of desire; he would have done it all and more, even if he knew that they would end up in such a turbulent place, because temptation had always been his weakness, and when it came to Katara, her very smile was enough to bring him to his knees.

He stumbled back, well aware that he eyes were trained on where he'd last stood, but he could be silent if he needed to, and he inched away from the space where he felt her eyes most intensely, and leaned back against the smoothed stone of the craving they'd been staring at. The stone at his back and under his tilted head, cool and hard, make his breath slow and his racing heart calm just a little.

(Because he was in a tomb created solely to preserve the tragic story of love. He was in a place that not only related to his situation, but personified it to the great detail, with stories of warring villages and forbidden romance and love winning out against all the odds, and the beautiful monument to Oma and Shu still standing tall and proud today. He ran his fingers along the stone, and wondered distantly if Shu ever blurted out any stupid love confessions when he hadn't meant it, and something in him told him that the boy in the legend had, but it had been endearing and breathtaking and Oma had loved his for it. With a dreaminess settling in on his mind, Zuko vaguely wondered which carving he was leaning against: Oma's, or Shu's.

" You…" Katara's voice echoed from somewhere in front of him, and over to the left. He shrank into the stone, praying that she might think he had walked away from her, think that he might abandoned her in this most important time, and she would find it within her hate him again.

(Because if she hated him, she couldn't love him back, and then his feelings would never be returned, and he wouldn't yield to temptation, and while everything might not ever be how it was, he could live with Katara despising him and marrying Aang and giving birth to many airbending children than loving him when he was most vulnerable and scared. He could live with her loving someone who loved her completely, than having her bound to him in an instant of weakness when he wanted comfort.)

" Zuko, you…" Her voice was more to the right now, but he still didn't answer. As badly as he wanted to, and as badly as he wanted to hold her in his arms and whispered those words over and over again until he lost his voice, he couldn't because, he was still hurt over Mai, and Aang loved her, and he wasn't about to deny the only one of his kind left – thanks to _Zuko's_ people – anything he wanted.

" You said you loved me."

And then she was holding his face, and around them, same little green crystals were lighting, bathing the entire chamber in a jade glow, and reminding him eerily of the catacomb under Ba Sing Se. And a warmth filled him, starting from his back, and reaching up over his shoulders and up his neck and through his brain, and down into his aching chest, over his stomach, down his legs, and right into each one of his toes, until he felt strong and brave and hopelessly, hopelessly, in love.

" Since when-" But he cut her off, because suddenly, he couldn't stop talking, couldn't stop telling her all these damaging things; couldn't let her walk away without making her understand.

" You remember when you stopped the rain in mid air over Yan Ra?" She nodded, and the glow made her look ethereal. " Right then. I was watching you bend, and I knew right then that I loved you."

" But, why…" She couldn't seem to make sense of anything he was saying, but Zuko was feeling too light headed and too drunk on the release of all his long buried secrets to worry about coherency.

He was too love sick, and love was never meant to mash with reason.

" You were so beautiful and angry and flawed and hurt and wonderful." He said in a rush. " You were so human, so achingly _human_, and suddenly, all those fights and all those words and everything we'd done up until that point didn't matter, because this was you at your best and worst, vengeful and angry and it made my knees weak."

He reached out and grabbed her hand, running his thumb over her knuckles.

" I didn't understand anything when we first met, but I think that if I had been a little more like I am now back then, I wouldn't have fallen for you at the North Pole."

" When we fought?" She sounded so shocked, but there was a warmth gathering around them, and for the life of him, Zuko couldn't remember why he had been so scared to tell her how he felt, not when she was looking at him like that.

" You have any idea what you look like when you fight?" She shook her head, and the light from the crystals was reflected in her untamed hair. " You look so passionate and wild and free and so _alive_ that it's breathtaking and frightening and wonderful. There's nothing in the world like fight you, Katara." She was starting to shake, and while he was pretty sure that wasn't a good thing, her eyes were telling him something utterly different. " You move and you twist and you're so focused, so in the moment, that sometimes I'd lie awake at night on my ship and wonder what is was that made you so determined. And then you fought me at the North Pole, and you were controlled and wild and you bent water like fire and twisted ice like lightening and I think I actually fell in love with you right there, but back then, I couldn't understand what love was. All I understood back then was anger and purpose and honour."

He looked at her, looked at her trembling shoulders and her parted mouth and her flushed cheeks, and looked most of all at her bright, burning eyes, staring up at him, looking at his face and flickering with something Zuko finally felt ready to answer.

" _You rise with the moon_," he whispered huskily, and her breath seemed to catch in her throat as he invoked the memory of that particular fight, " _I rise with the sun_. Remember?"

And then she was kissing him.

* * *

" I _said_, stop whining, Twinkle Toes!"

" But…But…_Tophy_!"

" I swear to every Spirit out there, Twinkles, you call me that _one more time_, and I am going Blind Freakin' _Bandit_ on your sorry a-"

" Toph!"

" What _now_, Twinkles?"

" You're too young to swear! So don't!" He tapped her on the head. " The all might Master Arrowhead commands it!"

" If you don't quit it with that, I am going to rip your damn arrows off and _beat_ you with them!"

" That's not very nice."

" What the _hell_ made you think I was _nice_?!"

" Please stop yelling at me, I hate it when people yell at me." Aang looked forlornly into his cup. " Katara never yells at me…I miss Katara. Toph, can we go find her and Zuko now?"

Toph made choking motions with her hands.

" _No_, Twinkle Toes, we can't."

" Why not?" He may have meant it as a question, but it came out like a whine.

" _Because_, we wouldn't know the first place to look."

" But that hole-"

" There was _no_ hole, got it?!" Toph ground out through her clenched teeth. " _No hole_."

" But-"

" _No_. _Hole_."

" But Tophy, I _saw_ it!" Aang insisted plaintively, and he apparently had shattered Toph's last nerve.

" _That's it_!" She roared, and with a shift of her feet, Aang was right in front of her, her hands grabbing his collar and her enraged face suspended directly in front of his flushed and dreamy one.

" I can't _take_ it anymore!" She shook him. " You have done nothing but _sit_ and _mope_ over the girl who asked you for a break! Did it ever occur to you _why_ she needed a break?! _Why_ she wanted to spend some time by herself?! _Why_ she needed to freakin' get _away_ from you?!"

" Katara wants to-"

" You _never_ give her a moment's peace! I've watched you two since you got together! You're always hovering all over her, at her side, bouncing after her like a lost penguin puppy! She's barely allowed to go and have a _bath_ on her own! You never give her any space, and you never let her have a minute to herself, and now, you're telling me you didn't even _ask_ her to be your girlfriend?! You just _assumed_ she would be?!"

" Why shouldn't she be?" Aang protested, but his voice was meek. " I saved the world just for her, I did everything just for her. Why shouldn't she be my girlfriend? Why shouldn't she want to spend all her time with me? She loves me, does she?"

" She loves _everybody_!" Toph snarled. " She's spent the _entire_ trip loving everyone and putting everyone ahead of her! She's been everything we ever needed and we never questioned her willingness to be that person in our lives! And now that the war is over, she should be able to finally put herself first! But _no_! You expect her to be that person for the rest of her life, putting you ahead of her and putting your feelings ahead of hers!"

" What d'ya mean?" Aang slurred, and Toph saw red.

" _She isn't in love with you_!" The earthbender screamed, and threw Aang to the floor. " She doesn't feel the same way! She doesn't _want_ to be your girlfriend!"

" Yes, yes she does." Aang whispered, but he was thoroughly quailed by the furious Toph.

" You _never_ gave her a choice! You never gave her the option of saying no!"

" Why would she?!" The cactus juice seemed to have made Aang bolder. " I _saved the world_ for her! She…She _has_ to love me, after everything I went through for her!"

_Bam_.

The Avatar went flying backward and he hit the table, dizzy from the force of Toph's punch.

" You _pathetic_ little _excuse_ for a _man_!" The blind girl screamed. What few patrons had remained in the tavern for the show were huddled behind one table, staring at the two.

" Are you _kidding _me?! She _has_ to love you?! _She __**has**__ to love you_?!" Toph kicked the ground, and table behind him flipped over with a crash. " She doesn't _have_ to do anything! If she wants to get into a relationship with you, then that's fine, but if she wants to be with someone else, and you're the one think holding her back, than screw it, I am going to kick your ass, pal!

" You have _no right_ to tell Katara what she can and can't do, especially after everything _she_ went through for _you_! She hasn't been allowed to think selfishly since this little road trip began, and it's about damn time she finally got her chance at happiness! I was sure that this whole 'You and Katara' relationship was gonna blow over once you figured out you weren't doing it for her. But _oh no_, you had to keep going, you _couldn't_ accept that you weren't her _one_! You had to _hold_ her to you, find some way of _binding_ her to you, is that it?! So you decided she _owed_ you after you saved the world, and regardless of how she really felt, she would _have_ to love you in exchange for your hardships?!"

Aang nodded cautiously. A spear of earth knocked him back to his feet and bumped his chest into Toph's outstretched finger.

" Listen up, Twinkles." Her sightless eyes narrowed. " Katara owes you _nothing_. You chose to save the world for her. You chose to fight for her. You chose to run away all those times when things got too tough instead of facing them down like a real man."

" It's in my nature…" Aang started, but trailed off at Toph's look.

" Didn't I teach you better than this?! Didn't I teach you to face a problem head on?!" Aang nodded meekly. " Then face this, Aang!" He started as she used his name. " Face the fact that you aren't the man Katara wants! Face the fact that she doesn't owe you anything, especially not her love! She's been giving that to us since the day she met us, can't you be satisfied with that?!" Toph reached over with one hand and rubbed the bridge of her nose to try and ward off the headache that was beginning to form.

" Can't you let her go?"

" You sound like the guru." Aang whispered to her. " He told me to let her go too."

" Smart guy." Toph threw and arm around his shoulders. " You should listen to him."

" It's just…it's so hard." Aang fisted his hands in frustration. " She was the first person I saw after such a long sleep, and she woke me up, and she's been with me ever since…and it's so hard…letting go of her…"

" I'm here for ya, Twinkles." Toph gave his shoulders a squeeze. " I'm your friend, I'm on your side."

" Can we go somewhere quiet?" Aang asked in a tired voice. " Somewhere I can think?"

" Sure thing." Toph lead him out of the tavern, taking him down the dark roads where the crowds were starting to thin for the night. " Cheer up, would ya? Seeing you so down is weird."

" And how would you suggest I cheer up?" Aang mumbled, but Toph grinned out into the darkness ahead of them, her blind eyes fixed straight on the hill she couldn't see.

" By remembering that Sugar Queen isn't the only girl in the world."

* * *

Zuko was warm.

He'd always been warm; a heat she could feel through his clothes and skin whenever he held her close (which had become more often, recently). He'd always seemed to give off some kind of heat, like he had a bonfire blazing just underneath the thin layers of skin that separated that fire from the world. In the beginning, when his nearness meant battle and steam, she'd written it off as him being a firebender; that the heat was nothing more than the internal fire he turned outwards on his opponents. Later, when they met in friendship (or maybe not quite friendship, maybe something more like just meeting, without skills and fire and water and war cries), she'd thought perhaps that it was simply the kindness he seemed to repress in himself, the real Zuko that he'd locked away behind honour and ruthlessness.

But as she threw herself against him as he whispered the words that he'd once uttered as s victor at the Pole, all she could think of was that he was warm, and it was nice.

His lips were soft under hers, softer than she'd expected after that bare little brush in the alleyway. He was standing very still, stiff, as if frightened that movement might scare her away. Or perhaps, she mused, he was as in just as much shock as she'd been on the day of the eclipse, when Aang had kissed her.

Despite having kissed Aang, Katara was slightly at a loss about what exactly she was supposed to do. She had locked lips with him, and that was good, but she had never been really comfortable going any farther than that with Aang, and now, as she curled her arms around his neck, she wondered what was supposed to happen next. With a slight sigh, she parted her lips over his unmoving, but pliant ones, and, remembering several blush inducing chats with Suki, ran her tongue over the dip where his two lips met.

It appeared to be the right thing to do.

Zuko's arms snapped up around her and she was pressed against him so hard that she could actually _feel_ his heart vibrating against her chest. She wiggled slightly to pull herself up farther than him, and in the minute space between their mouths (allowed only by the fact that his was still closed), Zuko let out a muffled groan, and her tongue slide in between his opened lips.

For a split second, Katara panicked as she realized that _her_ tongue was in _his_ mouth and she had no idea what to do with it. But a long repressed instinct shoved its way passed all the inhibitions and notions of propriety that had been drilled into her, and Katara let her ideals of 'whatever feels good goes' guide her through the confusion.

She reached up with her one hand curled several locks of dark hair in between her fingers, lightly scraping her fingers along his scalp. She tilted her head to the left, and the angle caused her mouth to fall perfectly into place against his. She arced her back like Suki had told her about doing, and the sound of Zuko's ragged release of air was more than enough encouragement. She flicked her tongue against his, and suddenly, she wasn't alone in the kiss anymore.

Zuko's hands flung themselves down to her hips and pulled her completely against his own, and there was something…_something_ she thought she should now about, something that was pressing into her and sending little tingles of electricity down her spin, like Zuko was jolting her lightly with the fingers he had digging into her hips. She shifted, and her leg fell between his, that same something hard against the thigh. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, a warning bell was going off, the last vestige of the little girl who hated the Fire Nation and all it stood for, screaming for her to stop, begging for her to come to her senses. But then Zuko pushed her tongue back into her mouth, followed it, and took her lower lip between his teeth, and Katara forgot her own name.

Something hot coiled in the pit of her stomach, twisting over itself and turning like the lava that had crawled down the mountain in the village where she'd first heard the prediction of her love life.

As Zuko's hand dragged it's way up her lower back and she found herself shuddering, Katara might have found it miraculous that she could still hear the distant voice of Aunt Wu whispering _a powerful bender_ over and over again if she hadn't been so preoccupied with keeping herself upright. She clutched at his shirt, and a moan crawled out her mouth as Zuko pulled back.

He breathed hard, panting, but she had no room to mock him because her chest was heaving, and her lungs were starved of breath, and she was the only shaking so badly she could hardly stand.

" Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?" Zuko whispered, his voice hoarse.

" Something good I hope." She murmured, and pressed soft, tender little kisses along his jaw line as she steadied her breathing. Zuko held her close and did something that had his hips rolling into hers and the something pressing against something that wasn't her thighs, and wasn't her stomach either, and the thing coiling in her wound tight as she remembered all her lessons and what, exactly, that thing was that was pressing into her.

" What do you think?" Zuko purred in her ear, and the rumbled of his voice through his chest made her lightheaded. She blinked hazy eyes, and caught sight of his jugular beating wildly under a thin layer of skin on his neck just under her chin. The fluttering of his heart so close to her undid every last bit of restraint she hid in her.

She pressed her lips to the thundering little point, feeling it skip and jump under them. Zuko let out a breathless sound that may have been her name, but she was too absorbed in memorizing the rhythm under her mouth to care. She moved her head slightly, and grazed her teeth along his pulse. Zuko sank to his knees with a delighted, low-pitched mewl, hauling her down with him as he slid down the rock face, nestling her in between in leg and burying her face in the crook of his neck as he kissed the top of her head.

" I love this place." Zuko murmured dreamily. " I love this city and I love this cavern and I love that story and-"

" Zuko." She interrupted his inane rambling.

" Mmh?" He nuzzled her hair.

" I love you." She said in a rush, meeting his astonished kiss halfway to her face. She pulled back a second later, holding his face back as he tried to make contact with her again. She smiled at his pout, and brushed her fingers along his jaw. " I didn't want to, and I've ignored it, but I do, I honestly do.

" I was healing Aang, on a Fire Nation ship, and that's when I knew it. We were talking, and I remembered using the Spirit Water," it seemed very important that he understand this, " and suddenly, all I was thinking about was you, and how I should've saved you, how I should've healed you, how I should've brought you with us-"

" A relationship of might have's and should've's." Zuko whispered.

" I'm not that strong." She muttered, her fingers tracing the shape of his cheek.

" Neither am I." He was whispering, but in the darkness of the cavern, and the soft glow of the crystals, and the image of Oma and Shu carved behind them, Katara didn't mind.

" You said there were a lot of times you should've kissed me." Her fingers found his scar.

" I should've kissed you the very first time I saw you." He closed his eyes and sighed, leaning into her touch.

" But you didn't." She could barely hear her own voice anymore, over the desperate pounding over her heart.

" How can I make it up to you?" He rubbed the side of his face against her hand.

" You can kiss me now and you can kiss me tomorrow, and you can kiss me every other day after that."

Zuko smiled at her.

" I think I can do that." She surged forward, but his hand coiling around her throat, gently fondling her necklace stopped him. " Katara?"

" Yes?" He fingered the jewel the same way she had run hers over his scar.

" Is it alright if I ask your brother for help when I carve mine?"

Her answering kiss made his knees weak and his heart pound and his blood sing.

He was very lucky he was already sitting down.

* * *

Sokka grumbled as he held the torch up. Behind him, Suki was chatting animatedly with Haruhi, who was gushing about how awesome the tunnels were, how cute those badgermoles they had just run into had been, and how cool Suki's dance with her fans in the firelight to appease them had ended up being. Somewhere beside her, Kyon gave a slight twitch, but kept his death grip on her hand nonetheless.

Sokka blinked as his the light that spilled from his torch fell on a large entranceway up ahead of the group. With a puzzled look (he couldn't remember _this_ from the last time), he sped up, torch held aloft, and wandered into the chamber.

He froze.

" _What the hell_?!" He screamed in a high pitched voice as Katara hauled herself off of Zuko, her hand still pressed against the scar on his abdomen, visible with his red shirt flung open over his torso.

" Hey Sokka." The boy on the ground greeted sheepishly. " How's it going?"

Sokka simply kept pointing.

Katara frowned, but didn't remove her hand, much to Zuko's delight.

" Sokka, what are you doing here?"

Any answer he may have given was cut off by two loud, energetic squeals. Suki and Haruhi stood in the entrance behind Sokka, grinning for all they were worth, staring at the couple on the cave floor.

"Alright!" Haruhi groused, offering her hand to Suki. " You completed your mission!"

" You know it!" Suki slapped her palm against Haruhi's. " Operation: Epic Zutara is a complete success!"

Sokka merely twitched along with Kyon.

* * *

An end or a beginning. You decide.

MoS


End file.
